Colombo, May 17
At least 33 Tamil Tigers and a soldier were killed in fierce clashes in northern Sri Lanka. Seventeen civilians were also injured when suspected LTTE rebels exploded a hand grenade targeting a police bus.

Giving details of the attack at Vavuniya, the Defence Ministry said the civilians were injured when the militants exploded a hand grenade in a densely populated area in Vavuniya town this afternoon.

It said the militant lobbed a hand grenade targeting a Special Task Force vehicle carrying security forces personnel.

However, the grenade dropped back, missed it’s target and injured the civilians, Vavuniya police sources said.

Meanwhile, the death toll in yesterday’s suicide bomb attack on a police bus in Colombo has risen to 11 with 86 people sustaining injuries.

A motorbike-borne LTTE suicide bomber rammed into a police bus near the office of the Sri Lankan President here yesterday. In a ground offensive, at least eight LTTE militants were reported killed during intermittent clashes with troops in rebel-controlled areas in Wanni yesterday, defence sources said.

A Tiger rebel was also killed by army snipers deployed ahead of enemy defences in Alanakulama in Mannar yesterday, official sources said. Separately, another rebel was killed by the security forces in the region yesterday, they said.

While four rebels were gunned down in Navathkulam in Vavuniya yesterday, a soldier lost his life in Vilakvittakulam. — PTI

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the country will continue its role in the war on terror until it gained final victory, but will not compromise on national sovereignty and integrity.

"We will continue the war on terror, but will never compromise on our national interests and integrity. We want to end the root cause of terrorism by improving the socio-economic condition of the people in our tribal areas with the help of friends," he said during a visit to the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

In an unprecedented move, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was also present in the briefing. Others who accompanied Gilani included foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and adviser to Prime Minister on interior Rehman Malik.

The briefing covered internal and external security situation of the country with special focus on FATA and Balochistan. There was no mention about domestic political situation in official statements after the briefing, but informed sources said it also figured prominently, in particular in the context of widening gulf between the PPP and the PML-N of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Taj, who gave the briefing, is a close confident and relative of President Pervez Musharraf and has been deeply involved in Musharraf's political manoeuvres.

He also informed the PM and his colleagues about the progress of peace talks between the coalition government and the militant elements in the tribal areas. The briefing also included an overview of the role and performance of the ISI and its performance in battling internal and external threats.

The Prime Minister had visited the ISI headquarters a few days back, but on Friday his second visit in the company of party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has come as a surprise. Earlier this week, he went to the general headquarters Rawalpindi for interaction with army chief General Kiyani and other top brass of the army.

General Kiyani arranged a briefing on the security issues last month at the Prime Minister’s house, which was attended by top leadership of all coalition partners, including Mian Nawaz Sharif, Asfandyar Wali and Maulana Fazlur Rehman. It was interpreted as army's gesture to acknowledge the pre-eminence of democratically elected leadership.

Pakistan Ambassador in Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin has been recovered from his kidnappers, officials here confirmed.

The kidnappers released the envoy after three months apparently under an arrangement worked out during current peace negotiations between the government and the militants. His abduction remains a mystery amid many controversial versions. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of JUI and a coalition partner in the present government, recently claimed that Azizuddin is already in the custody of security agencies.

The envoy was kidnapped from Khyber Agency on February 11 while he was on his way to Afghanistan. In videotape released on April 19, Azizuddin had appealed to the Government of Pakistan for arranging his release by accepting the demands of the Taliban.

An official in the Foreign Office and Azizuddin’s brother Tahir Azizuddin confirmed the recovery.

In the wake of a Jirga between the Pakistan government and the local Taliban three days ago, the two sides had swapped over 50 prisoners. Senior analysts believed that Azizuddin’s recovery was also a part of this process initiated by Jirga. Tahir said officials informed him about his brother’s recovery and he would soon be reaching his house.

Islamabad, May 17
Pakistan’s new government today told leaders from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that it is committed to a “just solution” to the Kashmir issue, which is acceptable to all parties, “in particular the people of Kashmir”.

Briefing leaders from PoK on its Kashmir policy ahead of crucial meetings with India to review the composite dialogue process, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi noted that the issue had remained “unresolved despite several attempts at bilateral and multilateral levels” over the past six decades.

Pakistan “is ready to engage with India in a constructive dialogue to find a solution that is acceptable to all parties, in particular the people of Kashmir”, he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the foreign office.

Qureshi, who is set to meet his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee here next week, assured leaders from PoK that the new government would seek “a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people”.

Outlining the “the key parameters of Pakistan’s Kashmir policy”, Qureshi said the issue was also the subject of several UN resolutions.

He welcomed the Kashmir-related confidence building measures, which “have enabled the divided families to meet and brought relief to Kashmiri people”, the statement said. — PTI

Law Minister Farooq H. Naek has said reinstatement of judges is possible through Parliament before the budget to be announced next month.

Talking to newsmen here, the minister said a joint session of Parliament would be convened at the earliest for tabling the much-awaited resolution for the reinstatement of the deposed judges in accordance with the Bhurban Declaration.

The law minister said a number of proposals have been made in the constitutional package, including punishment to those acquiescing to the whims of a dictator. He said any judge taking oath from a dictator will also be liable to punishment. The army chief would take only one oath, that of his office, forbidding him from any other.

He said the package envisaged empowering the Prime Minister with all those powers that were transferred to the President under the 17th amendment. It is also proposed that the chief election commissioner’s appointment should be made on the recommendation of the PM instead of leaving it to the President’s discretion.

The minister said the deposed judges, who were kept under detention, could themselves take legal action against responsible persons. He said the previous Parliament had ratified the Provisional Constitution Order (PRO) 2002.

Naek said the restoration of judges was being delayed due to certain legal complications. He said the PML-N wanted to retain the incumbent judges as ad hoc judges; therefore, the five-member committee on the judges’ issue could not take any decision due to divergent opinions on the matter.

BRIEFLY

‘Fat Tony’ flies home for 12-yr jail
MELBOURNE: Like an episode from the hit mafia TV series the Sopranos, Australian mobster “Fat Tony” has finally been extradited from Greece to serve his 12-yr jail sentence for cocaine trafficking in Melbourne. Antonio Mokbel, the country’s most wanted criminal, arrived on board a chartered luxury Gulfstream jet on Saturday. Mokbel was convicted in absentia for drug trafficking in 2006 after he fled Australia. Mokbel, wearing an ill-fitting wig as disguise, was arrested in Greece in June 2007 where he was living with his girlfriend. — Reuters

US to bar drilling in Arctic wetlands
ANCHORAGE ( Alaska): The Bush administration on Friday proposed keeping potentially oil-rich wetlands in Arctic Alaska off limits to drilling because of their ecological sensitivity, a reversal of its earlier plan. The Bureau of Land Management proposed a 10-year leasing moratorium for 430,000 acres of wetlands north and east of vast Teshekpuk Lake in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Environmentalists and local groups hailed the decision. — Reuters

UN for stricter building codes
New York: The United Nations has sought stricter codes to ensure that buildings are able to withstand earthquake shocks considering the large number of casualties caused due to their collapses. "We know how to make buildings more resistant to earthquakes, but this knowledge is still not yet well disseminated among decision-makers who enforce building codes for houses, schools and hospitals." said a UN official. When earthquakes strike, collapsed buildings claim the largest number of lives, as made evident by tremors in Pakistan in 2005, Iran in 2003 and most recently in China earlier this week, he said. — PTI

Pope restates stand on same-sex marriages
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict, speaking a day after a California court ruled in favour of same-sex marriage, firmly restated the Roman Catholic Church's position that only unions between a man and a woman are moral. Benedict made no mention of the California decision, but stressed the Church's position several times. ''The union of love, based on matrimony between a man and a woman, which makes up the family, represents a good for all society that can not be substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions,'' he said. — Reuters